Organizing a Stash for the Cloth Diaper Hoarder

I consider myself a cloth diaper hoarder. Before my son was even born, I had a stash of about 40 diapers. After he arrived, I increased that to 72. I have officially been put on "cloth diaper suspension" by my husband. Once I laid out all of my diapers and had them all cleaned and ready to go, I was overwhelmed with where to put them all. I didn't want to jam them in the changing table drawer, because they obviously wouldn't fit. I didn't want to put them in the dresser because they would take up the drawers needed for his clothes. So, I recycled an old friend to help me organize my diapers.

I had an old hanging sweater organizer that I was about to throw out when I decided to give it a try to help with organizing my diapers. Once I hung it in my son's closet I knew it was a perfect fit. I started to jam my diapers in the organizer when I became overwhelmed again. What if I can't find the diaper I want when I am changing my son in a rush? So, I decided to organize them a bit more.

I was undecided how to stack the diapers. Should I do it by hook and loop and then snaps, or should I do it be size and style? Instead I decided to organize by brand. I have my Blueberry and GroVia's in the first cube, my bumGenius and Tots Bots in the second, more bumGenius along with FuzziBunz and Moraki in the third, and Kawaii and other brands in the fourth. My fifth cube is for extra inserts. I organized them this way because one day I am in a GroVia mood, when on another day I may just want bumGenius. It seems to work out well. And now that I have a free drawer on my changing table, I have a quick stash of one to two diapers per brand so that I can grab them quickly. I also have a huge overflow pile. I put these diapers on the top shelf of my son's closet. They are my back up diapers in case we need them. I usually switch these out with my other diapers every month so that they are used as well.

Once I do my wash, I rearrange my diapers again. I fill the drawer with diapers that I didn't use the few days before so that they all get equal wear. If there is one diaper that I did not like or am mad at for leaking, I usually put at the bottom of the stash so that I forget about it for a bit. Then when I am switching things out again, I see that old problem diaper and am determined to make it work this time. It is a fun game.

Everyone has their own system, but this seems to be the one that makes me excited each time I use a diaper or do laundry. I feel like a little kid when I am stuffing diapers and putting everything neatly away for future use. It feels like Christmas every couple of days!

Best of luck and happy cloth diapering to all of you!

Bio: I have been married to my husband, Carlos, for 10 years and we are the proud parents of 3 furr-babies. We live in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I am a first time mom to our 5 month old son, Maximus. It took us 8 long years to have him, but we knew our miracle would arrive at some point. Maximus came in to this world at 32 weeks and stayed in the NICU for 8 weeks. He fought very hard to be the healthy and strong baby he is today. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with him full time so I can watch him grow in to an amazing little boy!


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